Luz Eufemia Vela Gutiérrez, better known as Lucé Vela, (born 1961) is the wife of former

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

Luis Fortuño. She was the

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

, a position she held while her husband was in office from 2009 to 2013.

Education and personal life

Lucé Vela was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

, in 1961. Vela obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Communications with a minor concentration in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

from Goucher College in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She later obtained a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law. She married Luis Fortuño on August 3, 1984 The couple are the parents of triplets, María Luisa, Guillermo Luis and Luis Roberto.

Professional career

Vela first commenced her legal career working for the Law Firm of Martínez, Odell, & Calabria. In 2000, she established her own private practice, specializing in

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

and as a notary public.

First Lady of Puerto Rico

Vela began her tenure as

First Lady of Puerto Rico First Lady or First Gentleman of Puerto Rico ( es, Primera Dama o Primer Caballero de Puerto Rico) is the official title given by the government of Puerto Rico to the spouse of the governor of Puerto Rico or the relatives of the governor, should ...

after her husband, Luis Fortuño, was sworn in as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 2009, following the 2008 general elections. Her charitable work involved education, family values, and women's health.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vela, Luce Living people Date of birth missing (living people) 1961 births First Ladies and Gentlemen of Puerto Rico Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Goucher College alumni Politicians from Madrid Spanish emigrants to the United States